“I wouldn’t quite classify this as like any genre," Phoenix said while speaking with Collider. "I wouldn’t say it’s a superhero movie, or a studio movie or a … It feels unique, and I think more than anything, and probably the most important thing, is Todd seems very passionate about it and very giving, and so that’s exciting."

"I think, underneath the excitement of these films, and the size of them, there are these incredible characters that are dealing with real-life struggles," Phoenix said. "And sometimes that is uncovered and exposed, and sometimes it isn’t, and so I always felt, like, there were characters in comics that were really interesting and deserve the opportunity to be kind of studied. And so I think that’s what Todd sees appealing about this idea."

Joker is directed by Todd Phillips and executive produced by Martin Scorsese. The film stars Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, the man who will become the Joker. The film also features Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, and Marc Maron. The film will reveal the origin of the Joker, which has been shrouded in mystery for years in both comics and film.